I am at the 109,000 mile mark on my 1997 concours and am In need of a desperate tune up. I called the dealer and they charge me anywhere from 500-900 dollars!!! And the other people I call are scared to work on them??? What do I do and where can I go for a great price???

danbuc

04-21-05, 11:34 PM

I would recommend doign spark plugs and wires first, and then go from there. You shoudl also by some throttle body cleaner and clean it out. Just get a soft tooth brush, and some shop towels. Spray the cleaner into the throttle body, and use the tooth brush to clean out any build up. I guess if you really wanted too, you could get some fuel injector cleaner as well. If the car runs fine, you probably don't need it. The reason for the high price in the tune up, is mostly due to the cost for parts and labor from the dealer. Plugs and wires from the dealer alone, are about $250. Most will charger abotu 2 hours of labor to install them. With a good socket set, it can be done within the two hour time span yourself. I would buy the plugs and wires online from a company like Rock Auto http://www.rockauto.com/ . They are much cheaper than the dealer. The throttle body can be purchased at any loal auto store (i.e. AutoZone, Pep Boys,..ect).

chevyorange

04-22-05, 12:21 AM

I did my own this week - plugs, wires, fuel/air filter for about $220 parts.

I can barely walk (I do not reccomend tuning up your STS with three torn disks in your back).

But boy, does she hum along now! I think I picked up some torque!

Adam

zonie77

04-22-05, 11:12 AM

You can get a great price in your own garage, plus you know how it's done!

If you have some ability I think this is the place to start.

chevyorange

04-22-05, 11:14 AM

Actually, this is the first time I've ever done any work on it - actually even the first time I've tuned up a car without a carbuerator and I have to say the plugs are easier to get to than the ones on my old Chevys... they're on top!

Anyway, I do understand your situation, tune ups are very expensive on V8s anymore.

JSMeloche

04-22-05, 11:25 AM

repost of my own post :) Enjoy!

This is a post to reassure all of you who are afraid to do a tune up on the North* engine. It is very easy! i did mine this weekend in 2 hours (95 STS 85k). I changed the plug, plug wire, fuel filter and air filter.

Just go slowly.
These are the step i followed to change the plugs and wire.
#1 remove the engine cover (open the hood first lol)
#2 remove the strut brace. This is easy and gives you a lot of place to work
#3 remove the coil pack. 2 bolts on the back and 2 bolts on the side (10mm). This will give you easy access to all four rear spark plugs
#4 remove plug wire and change the plug. Do the plug one at a time. You should not have any problem removing the plug in the back. Use a spark plug socket, the one with the rubber to hold the plug in place and a extension.
#5 change the wire one at a time making sure you put it back on the correct terminal. This is pretty foolproof. The number of the cylinder is labeled on the block and the terminal is labeled on the coilpack AND in some case it is labeled on the wire as well.
#6 Put everyting back in place

For the fuel filter is is on the driver side of the car underneath the rear door.
#1 Remove the fuel pump fuse and run the car until it stalls. This will remove most of the pressure from the fuel line.
#2 Jack the car.
#3 Locate the fuel filter and remove it. I used a screwdriver to break the plastic thingy that hold it there but im pretty sure there is a better way to do it.
#4 Put the new filter in place using the new plastic retainer
#5 Dont forget to put the fuel pump fuse back!

145$ CAN for the wires
105$ CAN for the spark plugs
12$ CAN for a fuel filter
100$ CAN K&N 33-2086 this is a direct fit for the STS even tough it is not listed on K&N site.

The dealer wanted over 800$ to do all this!!! can you beleive it! I did all this in about 2 hours. Now the STS is even smoother at idle and scream at WOT.

Do you guys have any other suggestion for my tune up? I want to clean the injectors but i will probably go to the dealer for this since they have a pressurized washing system.

chevyorange

04-22-05, 11:32 AM

Looks like you did exactly what I did last weekend!

I then took it to my mechanic and had the transmission service and full synthetic oil job done.

At 91k miles I feel like I picked up some torque and a little more power in the upper ranage.... traction control seems to wanna kick in a little more easily, even in the dry!

Adam

zonie77

04-23-05, 12:37 AM

New cars are easier to tune than older cars were!

chevyorange

04-23-05, 12:31 PM

I agree to a degree - but new cars have more crap in the way it seems most of the time.